Charleston or Detroit?

Charleston is a true beach destination. It has three barrier islands within about half an hour, each with its own character: surfy Folly, residential Sullivan's with its dunes and forts, and broad, resort-style Isle of Palms. The Atlantic stays warm from late spring well into autumn, though the water is tidal and green rather than clear.

Detroit has a small sandy beach on Belle Isle and a calm, lawn-backed one at Lake St. Clair. The lake is shallow and pleasant on a summer afternoon, but it is cool for most of the year and swimming lasts barely two months. Nobody should choose Detroit for this.

Charleston has the deeper and more distinctive table. Lowcountry cooking, built on Gullah Geechee and West African roots, runs from refined dining rooms in restored townhouses to whole-hog barbecue and Shem Creek seafood shacks. Its weak points are cheap international food and tables that need booking well ahead.

Detroit is stronger where Charleston is thin. Dearborn's Arab American bakeries and grills, Mexicantown and Hamtramck's Polish bakeries offer range and good value, and Coney dogs and square pizza are true local icons. Fine dining is lighter, though, and the best meals are spread across the metro area.

The two are evenly matched, but in opposite ways. In Charleston the streets themselves are the main sight: Rainbow Row, the Battery, the single houses and the house museums. Fort Sumter and the city's museums of the slave trade put hard history at the centre, and two or three days on foot covers it.

Detroit's strength is indoors. The Detroit Institute of Arts and its Rivera murals and the Henry Ford with Greenfield Village are bigger collections than anything in Charleston. Add the Motown Museum and Art Deco towers such as the Guardian Building, with plenty of driving in between.

Detroit has the better nights out, and they come with a real musical identity. It is the home of techno, with small serious clubs and after-hours warehouse parties. Cocktail and dive bars fill Corktown and Midtown, though you'll need taxis between them.

Charleston is a bar town rather than a club town. Upper King Street packs rooftop bars, oyster bars and sports pubs into one walkable strip that fills with students and weekend groups. The French Quarter's taverns are quieter, and most places close around 2am.

Charleston's Lowcountry gives more to do outdoors. You can paddle through spartina marsh creeks where dolphins surface, walk the Francis Marion forest and the ACE Basin among alligators and wading birds, or cycle the quiet roads of Kiawah and Edisto. Summer heat and mosquitoes push the best of it into spring and autumn.

Detroit's outdoors are mostly parks and water: Olmsted's Belle Isle, the RiverWalk, sailing on Lake St. Clair and the wooded metroparks, which have good autumn colour. Neither city has hills, but Detroit's long winters cut its outdoor season much shorter.

Charleston's outings are richer and closer. Middleton Place, Magnolia, Drayton Hall and McLeod Plantation lie about half an hour out and tell the story of slavery behind the gardens. Savannah's squares make a full day, and Beaufort leads to the Gullah sea islands.

From Detroit the options are pleasant but less memorable: leafy Ann Arbor, Bavarian-styled Frankenmuth, Toledo's fine art museum and a passport hop to Windsor. Cedar Point is there for coaster fans. From both cities you'll need a car.

Both work well with children, but in different ways. Charleston is compact and calm, with the aquarium and children's museum on the downtown waterfront, the aircraft carrier at Patriots Point and easy beaches. It has no zoo or theme park, and summer afternoons are tiring.

Detroit has the bigger single attractions: a large zoo with a polar bear tunnel, the hands-on science centre and Greenfield Village's steam trains. Almost everything needs a drive. Come in summer, which is the opposite of Charleston, where spring and autumn suit families best.

Charleston is easier for a visitor because what most people come for is on its flat, walkable peninsula, and pedicabs and a free shuttle fill the gaps. The beaches and plantations still need a car or a ride.

Detroit's People Mover and the QLine on Woodward link downtown, Midtown and New Center, which covers the main museums and theatres. Beyond them, wide avenues and slow buses mean you'll be driving to Dearborn, the zoo and most other places.

Charleston makes the better shopping afternoon. One street, King Street, runs from antiques and galleries at the lower end to fashion brands and then independent boutiques, all in handsome surroundings. The sweetgrass baskets woven by Gullah artisans at City Market are a craft you won't find elsewhere.

Detroit's shopping is scattered and small. You'll find maker-made watches, leather goods and vintage in Midtown and Corktown, crafts at Eastern Market and a suburban mall for big names. There's no central street to wander.

Detroit is the cheaper trip by a clear margin. Hotel rooms cost less than in most large American cities except on game and concert nights, and casual Middle Eastern and Coney meals are good value. A hire car is the main extra.

Charleston charges big-city prices for its peninsula inns, well-known restaurants and paid house and plantation tours, and spring and autumn weekends cost more still. Walking the old streets and the beaches are free, and staying in Mount Pleasant saves money, though you'll drive in every day.

Detroit is far stronger all year. The symphony plays in the much-admired Orchestra Hall, the opera has its restored house, and the Fox and Fisher theatres bring big touring shows. Jazz, soul, gospel and rock fill small venues most nights.

Charleston comes alive for Spoleto Festival USA in late spring, with opera, dance and theatre across the city. The rest of the year it offers the Dock Street Theatre, the Gaillard Center, local songwriters and the distinctive Gullah storytelling and song.

Neither city has a bathing tradition, but Charleston is the more restful place to be. Its slow pace, shaded gardens, quiet church courtyards and evenings at White Point Garden help you unwind, and the resort spas on Kiawah add some pampering.

Detroit runs on work, sport and music, and rest comes mainly from a walk along the RiverWalk or a quiet afternoon on Belle Isle.